When children from Buddhist homes across the United States recite the Pledge of Allegiance, they utter a phrase that is inconsistent and incompatible with the religious beliefs and ethical principles they are taught by their parents, by other adults in their communities, and by their teachers at after school religious programs and at Sunday Dharma school. That phrase is that this is a nation “under God.” Although these children may wish to say the Pledge, express their patriotism, and state aloud their commitment to this “indivisible” country and the values of “liberty and justice for all” represented by the flag, they can only do so by referring to a deity and a particular religious paradigm that is at odds with their Buddhist beliefs. Unlike the religious group considered by the Court in W. Va. State Bd. of Educ. v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943), Buddhism does not prohibit Buddhists from committing their allegiance to the United States (indeed, numerous Buddhist-Americans have given their lives fighting for this country). Thus, when viewed from the perspective of a Buddhist, there is no question that teacher-led recitation of the Pledge in public secondary and elementary schools violates the very “touchstone of Establishment Clause jurisprudence: Neither a State, nor the Federal Government can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another.” Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577, 600 (1992) (Blackmun, J., joined by Stevens and O’Connor, JJ., concurring) (citing Everson v. Bd. of Educ. of Ewing, 330 U.S. 1 (1947)).